The present invention relates to a modular power receptacle and one which is adapted to receive a line conditioner module selectively filtering power supplied to one or more outlets of the receptacle.
In modern office designs in which panel wiring of the type disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,561, issued Mar. 15, 1983, frequently, the work station defined by the panels employs computer equipment. Such equipment may include, for example, a personal computer terminal with a keyboard, monitor and microprocessor; a separate disk drive for the terminal; and a printer. All of the computer equipment is sensitive to power surges which frequently occur and which can destroy electrical components particularly integrated circuits. Further, the microprocessor and its associated circuitry contained within the personal computer is particularly-sensitive to other power line voltage variations including E.M.I. (electromagnetic interference) and R.F.I. (radio frequency interference). The causes and deleterious effects of these additional power line disturbances is well known, and a line conditioning circuit frequently is used to isolate and filter the power source for at least the personal computer.
A variety of line conditioning circuits are available which plug into the front of a conventional wall outlet for use in connection with personal computing equipment. Such line filters typically include both a surge suppression circuit as well as a low pass circuit for each of the outlets associated with the device. Thus, although filtering is available for the personal computer user, in the office environment, the use of such add-on filters in addition to the integrated power receptacles in the paneling system is costly, particularly where the somewhat unnecessary line conditioning and filtering is provided at all outlets including those for use with disk drives and printers which typically do not require the degree of protection necessary for the personal computer itself. Further, the line conditioning and surge protection filter system available typically are plugged into existing outlets and do not aesthetically integrate well with an office panel system with integrated power distribution systems included in the paneling. Further, they can be easily removed from a work station by individuals with or without larcenous intent thereby leaving the computing equipment unprotected sometimes without the knowledge of the operator.